Few would have expected 2011’s reboot film Rise of the Planet of the Apes to spawn one of the best movie franchises of the last decade, but thanks to incredible special effects and a gripping cast of characters, that’s exactly what it did

Few would have expected 2011’s reboot film Rise of the Planet of the Apes to spawn one of the best movie franchises of the last decade, but thanks to incredible special effects and a gripping cast of characters, that’s exactly what it did

After several years of decline, parent company Dish Network has decided to call it quits on maintaining Blockbuster's physical presence. To be honest, we're surprised it took this long.

The popularity of video-on-demand services like Netflix and Amazon Instant, paired with the arrival of movie rental kiosks like Redbox, have had retail establishments like Blockbuster on life support for the last five years. But now the plug is finally being pulled. According to a recent statement from Dish Network, the company will shutter the last remaining 300 retail locations by early January 2014 and halt its by-mail rental service by mid-December 2013. All remaining distribution centers will also be closed.

While the stores will disappear along with Blockbuster disc sleeves in the mail, Dish isn't giving up on the brand entirely. According to the company, it will "retain licensing rights to the Blockbuster brand, and key assets, including the company's significant video library."

For Dish customers, that means the Blockbuster @Home service will stick around, which includes over 15 movie channels including Starz, Epix, Sony Movie Channel, Hallmark Movie Channel and over 20,000 movies and TV shows. For non-Dish customers, the Blockbuster On-Demand video rental service remains available through "PCs, tablets, smartphones, Slingbox, Roku and select Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players."

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